2000 Atlantic 10 Conference Men's Tennis Coach of the Year
2001 Atlantic 10 Conference Men's Tennis Coach of the Year
2003 Atlantic 10 Conference Men's Tennis Coach of the YearÂ
Now in his 29th year at St. Bonaventure, Michael Bates has established himself as one of the top coaches in the Atlantic 10 Conference.
During his tenure, Bates’ team have earned 57 all-conference awards and 20 all-academic selections.
Entering the 2023-24 season, Bates is the longest tenured active head coach in the Atlantic 10 while also touting the most wins by an active head coach in the A-10. He is also just one of four coaches in the conference at the helm of both the men's and women's programs. He guided Archie Graham to Atlantic 10 All-Conference First Team honors. Bates also guided the Bonnies to a first round victory over Saint Joseph's at the Atlantic 10 Tournament, securing a second round berth for the second time in three years.
On the men's side, Bates in 232-323 all-time and has amassed over 170 wins with the women's squad.
Bates guided the men’s squad to a 10-10 record during the 2022-23 season while freshman Archie Graham earned Atlantic 10 All-Conference Second Team accolades. On the women’s side, the Bonnies finished 9-15 and sophomore Alexandra Jansson was selected to the Atlantic 10 All-Academic Team.
The Bonnies were also recognized for their success in the classroom by the ITA following the 2022-23 academic year. Both team’s earned ITA All-Academic Team awards while all eight women’s players and four men’s team members were named ITA Scholar-Athletes. The women’s team GPA of 3.801 was the highest of any team on campus.
His teams have found success on the court and in the classroom. The Bona men's team was honored as an ITA All-Academic squad in 2018 while six individual members of the team were honored for their work on the court and in the classroom. The previous season, both the Bonnies men's and women's teams were honored with Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) All-Academic Awards for having team cumulative GPAs of better than 3.20. It marked the fourth straight year the Bona women's team received the ITA All-Academic honor. Also during the season, Indra Patwardhan was named Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week for his strong play. Following the 2015-16 season, both Victor Blanco and Eduardo Irizarry were named All-Atlantic 10 while from the women's side, Mara Martinez-Santori also was named all-conference. The Bonnies women's team also received recognition from the NCAA for being in the top 10 percent of the nation's Academic Progress Report (APR) ratings.
In 2018-19, Bonnies found success both on and off the court - senior Indra Patwardhan was named both to the Atlantic 10 All-Conference Teams and was also a member of the A-10 All-Academic Team. The men's team posted a 3.53 cumulative GPA for the year while the women's team was at 3.43.
Bates received recognition for his work both in the "Bona Bubble" and throughout the community in 2011, winning the United States Tennis Association (USTA)/Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Campus and Community Outreach Award for the Eastern region. The Campus and Community Outreach Award is given each year to a "college coach who provides a leadership role in increasing tennis participation throughout his or her community, both on and off-campus."
Bates has coached numerous All-Conference players at St. Bonaventure, including 2006 graduate Alejandro Nery. The Venezuala native was a three-time All-Conference performer and served as an assistant coach for Bates upon his graduation. That same year under the guidance of Bates, freshman Diego Valdenegro turned in a strong rookie performance, being selected to the All-Conference Second Team as a rookie.
Bates has led the men's tennis program to new heights, earning Atlantic 10 Men's Tennis Coach of the Year honors in 2000, 2001 and 2003. He has led the men to two A-10 titles, two NCAA Tournament appearances and a run at one point of six straight years among the A-10's top three teams.
Bates was also a leader in college tennis, appointed as a member of the NCAA Division I Men's Tennis Committee from 2001-05.
Bates was the assistant men's and women's coach at the University of Pennsylvania for two years before coming to St. Bonaventure. At Penn, he helped guide the men to a national ranking and the women to a second-place finish in the Ivy League.
He began his coaching career as an assistant at his alma mater, Slippery Rock University, for two years. Bates taught professionally in Boston for four years before joining the staff at Penn.
Bates was a four-year letterwinner at Slippery Rock and was captain as a senior in 1987. He holds the fourth-best all-time record at the school and helped lead The Rock to a school-record 12 straight team wins.
Bates and his wife, Kris, reside in Olean. They have three children: son Thomas, and two daughters: Anna, and Karolyn.
